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As lawmakers prepare to head back to the state Capitol this month, they already have an idea of the bills they will be working to pass. For Representative Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, this session will be about civil forfeiture reform.

An overhaul of Georgia's juvenile justice system has cleared its first legislative hurdle. The proposal is intended to place nonviolent youth offenders into community based programs that treat root causes of crimes rather than putting them behind bars.

Republican Rep. Wendell Willard of Sandy Springs said Wednesday the goal was to move Georgia's code into conformity with federal standards and focus on treatment juvenile offenders in their communities, not incarcerating them. The overhaul bill passed 172-0.